Update May 23:
According to a Jonesboro Public Schools Facebook post, Kadarius Williams won Outstanding Supporting Actor. The production itself won awards for Costumes and Sound Design and Execution.
Previously:
Jonesboro, AR — (JonesboroRightNow.com) — May 22, 2025 — A recent production at a Jonesboro school has been nominated for several awards, with the choral director calling it “a big honor.”
On April 22, the Jonesboro Public Schools Facebook page posted that the Academies at Jonesboro High School spring musical, “Hadestown: Teen Edition,” was nominated in several categories in the 2025 Orpheum High School Musical Theatre Awards.
The nominations include:
- Outstanding Small Ensemble – The Fates (Cate Guinn, Anders Mitchell, Maddie Crawley)
- Outstanding Chorus
- Outstanding Choreography
- Outstanding Hair & Make Up
- Outstanding Set
- Outstanding Technical Achievement
- Outstanding Music Direction
- Outstanding Supporting Actor (Kadarius Williams)
- Outstanding Lead Actor (Issac Mirafuentes)
- Outstanding Lead Actress (MaKenzie Krennerich)
- Outstanding Direction by a Teacher
- Outstanding Overall Production
- Outstanding Sound Design and Execution
JHS choral director Krisie Holmes said hearing those nominations was exhilarating for her and the students.
“It’s a big honor, and yet, it is a tremendous weight, because you want to represent your school well, but obviously, the students have already done that in the show we chose,” she said.
“Hadestown: Teen Edition,” originally written by Anaïs Mitchell and directed by Rachel Chavkin, follows two intertwining love stories. One involves Orpheus and his journey to the underworld to rescue Eurydice, who was lured to Hadestown by Hades. The other looks at the relationship between Hades and Persephone, queen of the underworld.
As soon as they closed their show last year, Holmes said they applied for “Hadestown” through their publishing company, Concord Theatricals. She said several students knew about the musical and were onboard about the idea.
Most of the cast went to New York in December to see the show and did a workshop to learn the ins and outs of the project, learning the choreography, and meeting the workers and actors.
“Our kids asked questions, they told us about the daily life, they got to take pictures with them, so that got them all excited about it,” she said.
From January onward, things were in full swing from auditions to more students watching the musical to get a feel of what to expect. Holmes said not only did other teachers and parents pitched in to help, but those outside the school gave support.
One of the more important aspects of the production Holmes emphasized was making sure people were immersed in the show.
“[We] tried to mimic a little bit of what the New York set looked like, to put it in a bar. The New Orleans bar had the balcony with the French railing and whatnot. We built a stage upon a stage, and it moved, so it gave motion. It gave the sense of time passing and walking or traveling,” she said. “We also had a descent with a hydraulic system down into Hell or to bring them back, so when Hades arrives, he arrives up out of Hell.”
Some other touches included having actors in the audience posing as workers with steampunk goggles and having big factory lights from ceiling which they would move on cue. This idea also applied when people walked into the lobby for the first, with the crew making it look like a train station.
When things went in motion and the show premiered, Holmes said it was rewarding all the way through, but the production wasn’t without its challenges. She recalled an example of the different elements come into play at a single moment.
“So, the workers are on stage singing but slowly they have to exit in different ways. You’ve got Hades’ voice coming through, you’ve got Persephone’s voice coming through, but you don’t ever see them. You’ve got the Fates holding these lanterns, so they have to shine them just right on the face of Orpheus and Eurydice, but they have to be in the front at a certain time and in the block,” she recalled, adding, “Even though it sounds simple, it was insane.”
The 2025 Orpheum High School Musical Theatre Awards program will be held starting at 7 p.m. May 22 in Memphis, TN. The cast of “Hadestown: Teen Edition” will be also performing part of their show there.
Holmes said she is excited about the outcome due to the crew’s commitment to the project.
“They gave up time with family, they gave up time with friends, they gave up trips, they gave up birthday parties. They gave up their own private time. Up early, they were committed, they were all in,” she said.
The themes in “Hadestown: Teen Edition” also made this experience a life-changing one, according to Holmes.
“It was a lot of conversations, not necessarily about mental health, but we would say, ‘Okay. What are some good things this week? What are some good things from our show that we’ve learned, what has helped us?’ These stories are so personal, the themes are so personal, especially to kids,” she said.
As for what’s next, Holmes said with the success of “Hadestown: Teen Edition,” the future of musicals at JHS is “very bright”
Find the full list of nominations for the Orpheum High School Musical Theatre Awards by clicking here.